This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago. Follow us on Twitter for more information on our products.

Curious what you think about the VW Eos?

Curious what you think about the VW Eos?

Ha! Being a VW enthusiast, it makes me smile that seeing a car like the Aston Martin Rapide Concept (priceless) would make you think of a $30,000 underpowered convertable, but are you serious??

Pretty, but a little long. Reminds me of a beautiful woman who is just a little too tall to be perfect.

Wow, the 37S guys’ tastes in cars just keep getting more and more expensive. They must be rolling in dough!

but are you serious?

Serious as a heart attack… but I wasn’t comparing the two, just curious about JF’s thoughts on the Eos.

“I’ve always been a fan of cars of all kinds. Cheap, expensive, whatever. They are amazing machines. And some of them are works of art with engines.”

It is nice to see there are some techies who appreciate cars other than Priuses! ;P

Joe Ruby – is “Priuses” the proper pluralization of “Prius?” I would have gone for “Prii.”

Looks surprisingly like the Maserati Quattroporte. Maybe a little lower, especially in the trunk, but the hood, fenders and wheels look identical.

My former boss had one and it was definitely a beautiful machine.

well, at first look I thought it had a big ass. at second look I thought it looked OK, or at least the noticeable hump around the second set of doors didn’t bother me as much. at third look I found myself wondering why they were trying so hard to shove 4 doors onto a sports car with a hatchback, making it look so much like a sporty station wagon. successive views haven’t helped. I’m still wondering, why?

Something about it doesn’t work for me. It’s all too long, each section. I think the Maserati probably is more of a cohesive design.

Almost looks like a Chrysler 300M with a nice wax job.

Looks quite a bit like the Maserati Coupe in a 4 door version.

Not quite the same league as the Aston Martin but the Dodge Charger is a very nice looking four door.

I like how both cars hide the rear doors by styling the rear fenders in to them.

The Citroën DS is the most beautiful four day car ever. Personally, I favour the post-1967 variant, with the self-levelling and directional headlights.

I prefer the Aston Martin DB9 personally, it manages to look both modern and classic at the same time… and only £110,000 too, bargain.

Sort of looks like something elephantish sat on it.

I saw the most gorgeous old school mini driven down the street today. It rattled most becomingly and made delightful little put-put noises.

Try doing a quick google image search for “ford iosis” – a ford concept car and notice several ‘similarities’ between the new Rapide and it. (Aston being a Ford owned company)

Is it just Jason who loves hot cars at 37?

Great four door: Porsche Panamera. Weeeeeew

Sorry if I’m being a troll, but I find the SvN Car posts some of the hardest to relate to. It seems to be too much style over substance. I’m guessing money isn’t really the point so how about some old, cheap cars too. Renault 5 anyone?

I happen to agree that the car looks a bit too long. Now the V8 Vantage on the otherhand IS the most beautiful car in the world.

One thing I always admire about the expensive, handbuilt cars is the lack of seams you see in the sheet metal. That’s art in itself!

If they could make that thing get more than 8/11mpg, I’d be more interested. It is beautiful though.

The Silver Mercedes Gullwing. I saw one of those at the Indy Motor Speedway Museum. Nothing else like it.

Wow, did you see what they keep in the boot? Screw the spare tire – we need vintage wine and a chess set.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/news.cfm/newsID/2060117.006/pageview/photo/photo/Mini4/country/ecf/astonmartin/aston-martin-rapide-concept

OK, I’m going to go out of character, and throw some flowers Audi’s way. The most beautiful 4-door ever is the C3 Audi 100. Released in 1982, this car set the blueprint for all sedans that followed. Even today’s Hyundai Sonata is nothing but a pale rip-off.

I’ve never known the 37s crew to be in favor of form over function.

Renault 5 anyone?

Hah! The first car I ever drove. Ugly, unreliable, and uncomfortable. It spent nearly as much time in the repair shop as it did on the road. The new Renaults are quite nice, though—I drove a small one (can’t remember which model) for a couple of weeks on my last trip to France and would have happily bought one for myself.

Anyway, the Aston Martin Rapide sure looks sleek, but smacks a bit too much of a muscle car for my tastes.

I’d say it’s definitely one of the top two 4-doors, along with the Maserati Quattroporte.

When I’m rolling in dough, it’ll be a tough call… screw it, I’ll just get one of each!

Hmm… I don’t like it.

Something about the front end of this car really doesn’t work for me. Maybe like Sarah noted, it’s because something elephantish sat on it.

Okay, I can kind of see the similarity to the Maserati, but this car looks nothing like a Chrysler 300.

Looking at the 3 of them together is almost like looking at an abbreviated evolution chart, with the apes on the bottom.

I’ve always thought the Maserati looked a little awkward. The Aston Martin takes the sleek, 4-door sport coupé look to a whole other level.

Saw one at a restaurant a few weeks ago and was struck by how completely different it was from any of the other cars nearby- it really stood out. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

The quattroporte has that title IMO :

http://www.maserati.com/4p_05/eng/index.html

Saw one at a restaurant a few weeks ago and was struck by how completely different it was from any of the other cars nearby- it really stood out. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

Given that this is a concept car and hasn’t actually been manufactured yet, I find this one a bit hard to believe ;-)

Just beautiful – but with insane car prizes in Denmark I’m lucky if I see one on the streets before 2050

Ian, I believe that comment was referencing the Chrysler 300M, not the 300C you included in your composite. They’re very different cars. The 300C’s styling is deliberately massive and slabsided, the 300M is far more sleek and streamlined. (I do not know why they were given such similar model names.)

Boring shape IMO .

Naaa … Ford Maverick 4-door for me!

I don’t like it’s funnel like design

The car looks like it was designed in the 80’s along with the Ford Taurus (the tail lights from the side remind of it)

I like the CLS myself…

Dollar per dollar, I prefer the Audi S4 tricked out with a Nuvi 350 navigation system and ADS speakers. With an aftermarket chip, this bad boy can do 0 – 60 in 5.5 seconds. No need for a hair dryer with that kind of power.

What’s the estimated cost of the AMR ?

Mike L,

An Audi A4 that can do 0-60 in 5.5 after receiving an aftermarket chip? So what. The Mazda MazdaSpeed 3 that I’d like to trade my 3 in on does 0-60 in the same 5.5 seconds and tops out at 160 mph and it costs about $25K.

Mmmmmmm makes me wish I could drive!

my bro and i, both car nuts, raved about the AM tapide concept’s looks when we first saw pix. for a long-time ferrari fan, i think that AM has really come into its own design-wise with the latest models.

imho, for performance practicality, looks, and value, porsche wins aston martin currently has the best looking performance car stable. period. lambos are now better looking than my beloved ferraris, although the F430 is pretty nice re: four door super sedans, – AM rapide is the best looking – porsche panamera will be extreme looking but easy to live with – maserati quattroporte seems bulbous and has buick-esque styling cues, even though some seem to love it – bentley continental flying spur continues the fine continental GT look but with four doors

if you don’t think that eco-friendly and performance can blend, check out the tesla roadster.

enough car thought for me for now…

Aston Martin is great about designing a ultra performance vehicle without making it look like it came from the latest sci-fi movie.

That thing is yuck. ugly. I wouldn’t be interested in driving it. Maybe it’s a guy car. ick!

They’re nice and precise, each one begins and ends They may win you admirers, but they’ll never earn you friends Fast cars, fast cars Fast cars, I hate fast cars They’re so depressing going around and around Ooh, they make me dizzy, oh fast cars they run me down Fast cars, fast cars, Fast cars, I hate fast cars Sooner or later, you’re gonna listen to Ralph Nader I don’t wanna cause a fuss, but fast cars are so dangerous Fast cars, fast cars I hate fast cars

Definitely Top 20, maybe even Top 10, but hard to argue it’s more beautiful than a nice Zagato-bodied Aston (of the 60’s vintage, not the newer stuff)

Body works perfect just enough to slice through the tough wind.But show me more of of d engine and interior.

Wow, that’s cool! I’m wondering how much will that cost. But nvm. I don’t think I can afford it.